Basic Concepts of Programming
Basic Concepts of Programming
concepts of programming?
Irrespective of the programming language you choose to learn, the basic
concepts of programming are similar across languages. Some of these
concepts include:
Variable Declaration
Basic Syntax
Data Type and Structures
Flow Control Structures (Conditionals and loops)
Functional Programming
Object-Oriented Programming
Debugging
IDEs and Coding Environments
In the next section of this shot, you will be given a brief introduction to these
concepts.
Variable declaration
Variables are containers for storing data values, a memory location for a data
type. Variables are created using a declaration or keyword that varies across
languages.
Variable names are usually alphanumeric, that is, they contain a-z and 0-9.
They can also include special characters like underscore or the dollar sign.
Variables can hold values of any data type supported by the programming
language. This value may change during program execution.
Basic syntax
Every programming language has its syntax, and you must learn the
fundamental syntax of the language you are learning.
Syntax refers to the set of rules that define the structure of a language. It is
almost impossible to read or understand a programming language without its
syntax.
For example, let us declare a variable named greet and assign the value “Hello
World” to it:
C++
JavaScript
Java
Python
10
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
// your code goes here
string greet;
greet = "Hello World";
cout << greet;
return 0;
}
String
Boolean (true or false)
Numbers, which includes integers (whole numbers from 1) and
floating-point numbers (decimal-base)
Characters (includes single alphabets or numbers)
Arrays (a collection of data, usually of the same data type)
Stacks
Heaps
Trees
Linked lists
Queues
Arrays
Tables
Graphs
There are three basic types of control structures: sequential, selection, and
iteration.
Sequential
The most basic control flow is sequential control flow. It involves the
execution of code statements one after the other. A real-world example is
following a cooking recipe.
Selection (conditionals)
The basic premise of selection flow control is, the computer decides what
action to perform based on the result of a test or condition equalling true or
false.
Iteration (Loops).
A loop is a programming structure that allows a statement or block of code to
be run repeatedly until a specified condition is no longer true (will return
Boolean, true or false). It is one of the most powerful and fundamental
programming concepts.
Functional programming
Functions are containers that take in a set of inputs and return an output. It
is not required for a function to return a value. Pure functions will always give
the same result for the same set of inputs.
Object-oriented programming
**Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)**is a programming concept that
revolves around ‘objects’ and ‘methods’.
Inheritance
Polymorphism
Abstraction
Encapsulation
Debugging
Debugging is a crucial skill. It involves detecting and removing existing and
potential errors, defects, or ‘loopholes’ in one’s code.